One of the things we miss about Somalia is the way the whole family used to eat the midday meal together. In Mogadishu, civil servants used to finish work at 2:00 pm, which was also the end of the school day. By 3:00 pm, the hustle and bustle of city life would wind down and the busy streets would be semi-deserted. It was time for the main meal of the day, soon to be followed by the cherished afternoon siesta. No, it wasn’t a brief respite from work. The workday was over.

Lunch was usually an outdoor affair. The midday heat made this almost mandatory and we would sit under the shade of the trees in our yard. Pasta, bananas, salad, a pitcher of grapefruit juice, ripe papayas, chatter, lots of chatter. It was as if all the city activity moved into peoples’ yards.

Then the yard would be quickly vacated and the last few occupants (the children), forcefully evicted. We remember being forced to bed so as not to disturb our father. The only sound was that of cats arguing. Until life resumed again an hour or so later, for the Asr prayer and Asariye (Somali afternoon tea).

This pasta dish brings back those memories of Mogadishu. It is easy just like Mogadishu was, and fulfilling just like life was…

In a pan set on high heat, sautee the onions in the oil for 3 minutes, then add the garlic, vegetable seasoning and Xawaash, and cook for one more minute.

Add the beef ribs, and brown for five minutes on high heat. Add the blended fresh tomatoes, then cover and cook on medium heat for 10 minutes.

Add one litre of water, then cover and cook on medium heat for one and half hours until the meat becomes fork tender.

Peel and seed the tomatoes:

In a separate pot boil about 4 cups water. Score the base of the tomaoes, then drop them in boiling water for 20 seconds. Remove the tomatoes and let them cool. You don’t need an ice bath if the tomatoes are firm.

Core the tomatoes as shown in the picture and remove the seeds, then dice the tomatoes and set aside.

Bring 5 litres of water to a boil, then add 1 tablespoon of salt. Add the pasta shells to the boiling water and cook for about 10 minutes. Make sure the pasta is a little undercooked as it will finish cooking in the meat sauce.

While the pasta is cooking, add the diced yellow pepper and cilantro to the stew and mix well. Then add the diced tomatoes.

Combine the slightly undercooked pasta with the stew, add 1 cup of the pasta water, then add 2 tablespoons of the spicy sauce. You can adjust it to your taste.

Thank you walaalayal! this is amazing, since I am working mom with one child it is hard to come home and decide what to cook. This pasta dish is amazing and my husband and son love it. Thank you once again, I never thought somali food could be this quick

Hi. I just wanted to say that this recipe looks very good, and I’m hoping to make it sometime soon. However, I noticed that in the ingredient list at the top, it doesn’t mention yellow pepper. How much should I put in? 1/2? 1 whole pepper? Also, in the part of the instructions which tell how to make the hot sauce for the Isukaris, the cilantro wasn’t mentioned. Should I still put it in?

First, I would like to thank you so much for this amazing website! So informative, beautifully photographed and above all else DELICIOUS! I was wondering, if when you have time, you would be willing to lend your expertise! When I made this dish, despite letting the meat/pureed tomato/water mix simmer on medium heat for about an hour and 45 minutes, the liquid did not evaporate as it has in your version. What did I do wrong?? I used a large enameled pot with a lid (perhaps it fit too tightly?) Would it be ok to remove the liquid to a separate pan and reduce it that way? Any ideas you could share would be very much appreciated!

Thank you very much for your wonderful comment. First, we would like to ask you if you cooked the meat for 5 minutes (that reduces the moisture). Second, did you cook it for a further 10 minutes after adding the pureed tomatoes? If you followed those two steps, then there are two other possibilities: 1) Ours is a gas stove and the BTUs on the medium setting could be higher than an electric stove. 2) If the lid fits too tightly on the pot, the liquid will not reduce as much, so you would need to use less liquid than we did.

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About (Annaga)Qui Sommes Nous نبذة عنا

We are a husband and wife team and we live in Canada. In a world full of food complications, we make cooking very simple. Our recipe videos will make your cooking easy, relaxed and enjoyable. We bring you the foods we love from Somalia and from around the world.